“We’ll be sure to pass that along to the former Mrs. King.” I spot a shiny leather wallet on the dresser. “This yours, counselor?”
“It’s in my house, isn’t it?”
I toss the wallet to Mike. He pulls a fat wad of cash from the main pouch and hands it to the girl.
“Hey,” King shouts. “Put that back.”
“Pretty sure soliciting a minor is illegal, counselor,” I say.
“Bite me, asshole.”
“Careful,” Austin says. “We just might.”
Mike motions for the girl to shadow him out of the room.
“For fuck’s sake,” King groans. “Listen, I’ve got twenty grand in the safe in my office. It’s yours if you want it.”
Jonah muscles him to his feet and jostles him forward.
“By all means, counselor,” I say. “Take us there.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Holly
Day two of searching for signs of Kenzie is shaping up to be as fruitful as the one before.
Teagan and I stop at homeless shelters and talk to everyone we see. A tip from a group of boys sends us on a wild goose chase that ends with us driving all the way to a trailer park in Amherst for nothing.
We eat chicken nuggets and soggy fries in the car for dinner.
As the sun disappears below the horizon, I ask Teagan to drive us to the motel, just in case Kenzie made her way back there after I bolted. The parking lot is mostly empty, per usual. Teagan ties Burger’s leash to the hitch on the back of the Escalade and tells him to sit, then follows me into the office.
Doreen looks up from her magazine. “That dog shits in my parking lot, I’m calling animal control.”
“Don’t worry,” Teagan says. “I’ll make sure he shits in your sad excuse for a flower bed.”
“Glad to see you’re making friends, Holly,” Doreen drawls.
I approach the front desk. “Has McKenzie been back at all over the last few days?”
"Jesus that girl's popular,” Doreen says. "Was it you or her who trashed the place?"
“It was neither of us.”
The older woman scoffs. "You kids are all the fucking same, I swear."
“Has she been back?” I repeat.
“You quit without notice and damaged my property. Why the hell would I tell you anything?” Doreen lights up a cigarette and blows the smoke in my face. “What I should do is call the cops.”
Teagan pulls her wallet from her purse and slaps a credit card on the dirty counter. "I'll pay for the goddamn damages to this pile of shit you call a motel. Now answer the fucking question."
I stare slack-jawed at Teagan, knowing I shouldn’t let her spend money on me or this place. But I also know that squeezing answers from Doreen without some kind of incentive is like trying to press a lump of coal into a diamond with your bare hands.
Doreen picks up Teagan’s card and turns it over. “This gonna bounce?”
“Only one way to find out,” Teagan says.
My old boss takes her sweet time charging Teagan for the damages, printing the receipt, finding a working pen. Teagan signs on the line and takes her card back.
“Well?” I glower at the older woman. “Has McKenzie been back?”
“No,” Doreen says, with an exaggerated sigh. “She hasn’t.”
“Fantastic,” I grumble, feeling even guiltier now that Teagan’s generosity was for nothing.
I’m halfway out the door when Doreen yells, “Tell that cop you drove off with, if I don’t see more cash by the end of next week, I’m tossin’ all your shit in the dumpster.”
I run upstairs to look for signs that someone has been in our room. Just because Doreen didn’t see Kenzie doesn’t mean she couldn’t have slipped in under her nose. Unfortunately, the room looks about the same as it did the last time I was here, which is to say, like a disaster.
Back inside the car, I feel the walls of my ribcage closing in. I squeeze my eyes shut and tell myself to take deep breaths, but all I can manage are shallow gasps.
“You okay, Holly?” Teagan asks.
I shake my head. "You didn't have to pay for the damages.”
“No, but I wanted to,” she says. “It’s what family does. We take care of each other.”
“I’m not your family. You barely know me.”
“True. But Cal is family, and he cares about you.” She takes my hand. “And so do I.”
Her kindness is too much. I pull my hand away. Kenzie’s the only real family I’ve ever had. I promised I’d do whatever it took to find her, but with each day that passes, I feel like she’s slipping farther from my grasp.
My eyes burn as they fill with tears. “It’s all just starting to feel hopeless.”
Teagan reaches over and opens the glove compartment, unveiling a menagerie of small stuffed animals. She teases a plush penguin from the bunch and lays it in my lap.
“You can hold onto Penny,” she says.
I cradle the soft penguin in both hands. “Are these Joey’s?”